# bran

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɹæn/ · frequency rank #19,539

## Definitions
1. The broken coat of the seed of wheat, rye, or other cereal grain, separated from the flour or meal by sifting or bolting; the coarse, chaffy part of ground grain.

## Etymology
From Middle English bran, branne, bren, from Old French bren, bran (“bran, filth”), from Gaulish brennos (“rotten”), from Proto-Celtic *bragnos (“rotten, foul”) (compare Welsh braen (“stench”), Irish bréan (“rancid”), Walloon brin (“excrement”)), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreHg- (compare Latin fragrāre (“to smell strongly”), Dutch brak (“hound”)).

## Easily confused with
- **bro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-bro)
- **bun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-bun)
- **BRB** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-brb)
- **BSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-bsa)
- **Bri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-bri)
- **bru** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-bru)
- **burn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-burn)
- **bros** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-bros)
- **bred** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-bred)
- **brew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-brew)
- **Brit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-brit)
- **brow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-brow)
- **bruh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-bruh)
- **brat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-brat)
- **brig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-brig)
- **bray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-bray)
- **bree** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-bree)
- **brie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-brie)
- **brim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-brim)
- **Brom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-brom)

## Common misspellings (5)
`bbran`, `brann`, `brna`, `brran`, `rban`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bran